Why you should connect with your competitors<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/av_textblock]<\/p>\n
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Peter’s story<\/b><\/h2>\n
Peter Galante grew up in New York but now lives in Tokyo, where he co-leads the marketing and development for Innovative Language and is the driving force behind all its content development. When he started Japanese Pod 101 in 2004, there was nothing like it in the podcasting world. Jump ahead 15 years, and he now co-leads a company with 70 full-time employees plus part-timers and freelancers worldwide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nGrow with the flow<\/b><\/h2>\n
Podcasting was the new kid on the block when Peter started Japanese Pod 101, and he had no idea of its business potential. As the podcast grew, Peter focused on immediate goals \u2014 i.e. getting the daily episode out and catching the last train home. He says it’s hard to get past that stage, but it’s essential to take time out of your busyness to look at the bigger picture.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen you do that, don’t be surprised to find things are changing fast. The Innovative Language team created their first business plan and mission statement in response to enquiries from investors. A year later, they were amazed to find that their plans had radically changed.<\/span><\/p>\nSo, Peter says, it’s not crucial to have your next three years perfectly mapped out, but you do need a concise plan for growth. What will your next product be? How many newsletter subscribers will you aim for? These are the smaller goals that will eventually snowball into bigger things.<\/span><\/p>\n“Focus on smaller goals more relevant to your current business, and think about getting dollars in the door now to fund the next thing you want to accomplish. That’s probably where the priorities should be.<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nConcentrating on those goals enabled Peter’s company to fund their development, so they’ve never needed those outside investors for growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBusiness growth involves many learning curves<\/b><\/h2>\n
There is so much to learn when you start on your own. A video creator, for example, must learn how to speak in front of a camera, film the video, edit, market, set up a website\u2026 and that’s just the beginning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSome people have the capacity for many learning curves, and after a while, creators tend to overload themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nPeter says the problem lies with believing that you have to do it all yourself, that no one can do it better than you in the business you’ve created from scratch. The problem is, you turn into a ‘jack of all trades and master of none.’ And, while you must understand how everything in your business works, there comes a time when it becomes too much. You risk burnout if you’re working 24\/7.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOne mistake Peter made many times was putting the business ahead of important life events. You can’t go back to those events, but now he knows to put life ahead of his business. He’s made that possible by hiring a team.<\/span><\/p>\n